Recording mechanism.



J. L. AUTHIER.

RECORDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.17, 1913.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

insurer Louis nu'rnxnn or earners, rarer-risen, ASSIGNOR T sunnouens.azozonve nscnrnn cesarean, or neural, MICEIGAN, A oonronnrron orruxcnzsan.

assume mnonalvrsn.

misses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. L 1914.

application aias mmh 17, ms. Serial are. 754,838.

' The present invention relates to recording m mechanism in the type or"machine employing independently movable type in series fordenominational orders and adapted to be driven for printing purposes bythe action of a hammer. This is common and wellknown in variousconnections notably in adding and listing machines and it is with thelatter class of machines that my 1nvention is particularly concerned.

The object is to provide an improved form of means for yieldinglyretracting the type.

It is common to have the type sprin retracted so as to rebound afterhaving Q n struck and driven against the platen by the hammer, theaction being a percussive one.

25 My invention relates more especially to.

machines wherein there is the so styled front strike of type against aplaten, this being a feature of the so-called visible writing orprinting machine. a

By my invention the necessity of extend ing the casing in'which theserles of type is mounted, to accommodate retracting mechanism for thetype, is obviated. At the same time provision is made fora practicallyum form spring retracting action upon. all of the several types.

The drawings which accompany and form part of this specificationillustrate a preferred form of embodiment of my invention 40 and l havechosen for-purposes of illustration to use a wellrknown type of addingand listing machine, to Wit, that known as the Pike. Of suchdrawingsFigured represehts in right side elevation a suilicient port on of aPike machine to illustrate the adaptation of my invention thereto; Figs.2 and 3 are similar vertical sections of a type-carrying lever togetherwith an outline of a roller platen, Fig. 2 showing the parts at normaland Fig. 3 showing atype driven against the platen; and Fig.4- is across-section substantially on the line -4-4 of Fig. 2. v

It willbe unnecessary to enter into a detailed description of themachine proper beand State of causedt is so well-known both throughdisclosures of prior patents and through extensive commercial usagethough it should benoted that the relationship of the parts is varied tosome extent as compared with the disclosures of Pike Patents Nos.763,692 issued June 28,1904, 767,956 issued July 16, 1,904,791,941issued June 16, .1905, and other issued patents on the Pike machine, inthat the type carrying levers 403 have a contour and a locationrelativeto the roller platen 880 which, together with a correspondingvariation in the mounting of the printing hamin rs-50l and theconformation of the inclosig casing 500, provides for exposing anyimprint to the view of theuser of the machine at the close of theoperation that does the printing, it being of course understood that inthese machines it is customary to have line-spacing of paper occur inthe course of an operation after the printing has been done.

Passing to the matter of my. present invention, each type carrying lever03 is flanged at the form a housing. Thus there are front and rearflanges 4 and an end fiaugere The front and rear flanges are notched toreceive the type 10 of which there are'asusual ten with faces embossedfrom zero to 9. A cover-plate 5 fits grooves of the flanges to close inthe housing. It will be, understood that the less the housing extendsbeyond the zerotype the better so far as visibility of printing isconcerned audit will be noted that in the construction here shownthehousing does not extend farther than'necessary to provide a suitableguide for the zero type. The. character of my type retracting orrestoring means is such as to require no'g5 appreciable upward extensionof the housing to accommodate it. v

The type are cut out in the side toward the body of the type carryinglever and there is arranged against the latter a shoe 1 11 or plate formcurved to conform with the curvature of the front flan e of the housingand normally engaging t e several shoulders 10 of the type, whichshoulders mark the rear ends of the cut out portions of such type. Atits central portion this "plate or shoe is widened and formed on the-rear side with asocket 11. This socket retype-carrying portion to ggdownwardly beyond the series of type. The arm of the lever extendingbelow the pivot is connected by a spring 15 to a stud at a lower pointupon-the type carrier and this spring presses the upper longer arm ofthe lever forward and thus presses the plate or shoe against theshoulders of the type holding all of them forward in position to bestruck by the hammer 501. The spring of course yields when the hammerstrikes the type. In the case of type engaged with the shoe or plateabove its pivotal connection with the lever, the shoe will rock upon afulcrum afforded by the shoulder 10 of the lowermost or 9 type asillustrated'in Fig. 3,

whereas in the case of type below the pivotal connection of the shoewith the lever, the fulcrum will be afforded by the shoulder of theuppermost or zero-type. of the two middle type, the l and 5 type, theyengage the shoe so close to its pivotal connection with the lever thatthere would.

not be a rocking of thelever on either fulcrum above mentioned, but abodily displacement.

It will be obvious that the shoe or plate need extend upwardly only farenough to fully engage the shoulder 10 of the zerotype and that noextension of the housing is necessary to accommodate this part of theretracting or restoring mechanism. It will furthermore be noted that thecharacter of the mechanism is such that the spring acts with substantlalunliormity upon each one of these type composing the series.

it is preferable to provide means for definitely limiting the throw ofthe type and In the case to this end the lever 13 has a projection 13 inrear of its head and designed to strike against the rear flange of thehousing.

I claim: i

1. Recording mechanism comprising a housing, a series of type piecesindependently mounted to slide therein, a shoe engaging said type piecesto retract them, and a spring-actuated lever engaging theshoe andnormally holding it against the several type pieces of the series, thelatter when displaced singly for printing purposes displacing the shoein opposition to the spring of the said lever.

2. Recording mechanism comprising a housing, type mounted to slidetherein, a shoe engaging said type to retract them, and aspring-actuated lever pivotally en-v gaged with said shoe at its centralportion.

3. Recording mechanism comprising a housing, a series of typeindependently slidable therein, a shoe engaging all the type, and aspring-actuated lever pivotally engaging the shoe centrally thereof andcon trally of the series of type.

The combination of a type carrier having a housing, a series of typesliding through the housing, a hammer to act-severally upon said type, ashoe engaging them to normaly retract them, and a spring-actuated leverapplied to said shoe centrally thereof and of the series of type.

Josnrn LOUlS aurnnan.

Witnesses R. W. FAIROHILD, E. R. BARRETT.

